House Hearing Airs Disagreements Over Oil Export Ban

Experts from the energy industry disagreed about the impact that removing the ban on exporting U.S. oil would have on small businesses. In a House Committee hearing on the topic, lawmakers wanted to know what energy producers and researchers thought the change in the 1970s policy might mean for the business community. And while no agreement on whether to remove the ban existed, the witnesses did agree that, except for a few small energy companies, the only impact would be measured in changes to the cost of gas.

Supporters of removing the ban pointed to studies that suggest there would be little change at the pump, and that opening the market for US producers would provide international stability. Opponents of the change suggested that gas prices would increase as US producers chose to sell their oil abroad. More on the hearing can be found here.